Conflict and Change in the Horn of Africa

By Odi Moghalu

The Horn of Africa consists of five nations with unique historical experiences from lofty and distinguishing to awful and tarnishing. North-East Africa is a region shaped by history from migrations and invasions to modern global politics and internal dynamics of historical ethnic and religious sectarian divisions. Aside Ethiopia, the other nations of Africas horn have been significantly shaped by the delineation of boundaries by Islamic and later European empires. That has defined its political and economic antecedents. Its location as a regional nexus to inevitable trade routes between three continents had made concerns by world powers over its affairs to endure. This historical account concentrates on the 20th century political and economic challenges that had characterized individual nations in the region to the new millennium. Their quite spectacular and thought provoking internal and external legacies while transforming national live also remain enduring in certain aspects.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Sep 9, 2015
• ISBN: 9781514403792

Odi Moghalu

Odi Arinze Robert Moghalu was born in the besieged breakaway republic of Biafra in 1967 in a post-pogrom, blockade-induced famine and devastating starvation in a vicious genocidal war that cost 2 million Biafran lives , the worst in Africa's multifarious twentieth century conflicts in both scale and severity. Mr. Moghalu worked in Nigeria as a journalist and human rights activist and in the United States as an educator.

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Copyright © 2015 by Odi Moghalu.

ISBN:      Softcover      978-1-5144-0380-8

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Contents

Preamble

Djibouti

Ethiopia

Eritrea

Somalia

Sudan

Bibliography

Notes

Preamble

Africa remains a significantly outstanding continent which inclusion in global events, though secondary for beneficial purposes and adrift in leadership roles, remains inevitable. Significantly it is vital component of the worlds’ political drama, trade and cross-social network more so in an age of increased global integration through scientific and technological channels of communication. Its motley peoples, peculiar cultures, human, material and bountiful mineral resources; rich agricultural lands and environmental peculiarities consist a spectrum of natural endowment to the continent. Holding a teeming population of about *800 million people comprising multifarious tongues, ethnic groups and faith, its major topography consists 7 rivers, 8 lakes, 3 deserts, plateaus, rainforests, grasslands, game reserves, myriad weather conditions from the desert north to a snowy south tip. It also holds the world’s largest and most diverse concentration of natural and mineral resources; common villages and more than 500 cities and towns all combined to make this world’s region an exceptionally tourist and trade attraction.

Africans speak more than 1,000 dialects and belong to hundreds of ethnic nationalities.

They further differ along religious lines. Islam brought by migratory and trading Arabs

From the 6th century A.D dominates the north, except for Ethiopia, home of an ancient branch of Christianity. Animism is expressed in multitude indigenous religions mixed with Christianity introduced by European missionaries in the south. During the pre-colonial period different ethnic and religious groups occasionally warred against each other but more so lived together peacefully in city-states, kingdoms and empires. Confronting these divisions, European rulers often favored one group over another because of perceived cultural differences, and they used preferential treatment to gain and keep control of the people and natural resources of which an incalculable quantity were transferred to the west. More than past battles, this discrimination sowed the seeds of today’s ethnic hatreds. From 1875 to 1912 colonial powers carved up Africa with corrupt regard to ethnic, religious and tribal boundaries. Africa won its freedom colony by colony, the new nations weak collections of diverse groups with stronger loyalties to ethnic, religious and cultural affiliations than the new national governments. These divisions spawned coups and civil wars along with the cold war that contributed in no little measure to instability. Africa therefore remained at the mercy of challenging forces to it’s stability and growth; wars, bad governments, the whims of world markets, foreign economic manipulations and the cruel caprices of nature painfully intersperse its geo-political configuration. Uncertainty therefore crowds into the continent despite the abundance of human, material, mineral and food resources. But far from being a trouble-ridden continent, Africa’s most nations are not in conflict and possess developed, peaceful and wealthy cities and communities. Of it’s 53 nations, *11 are grappling with major conflicts. 42 have a generally stable polity.

However, this book did not treat issues of continental scope but resorted to a pre-statement towards the background clarification of a notable region – the Horn of Africa, which cuts an ample depiction of the continent. The Horn of Africa is a geo-political parlance associated with the northeastern region of Africa situated in a horn-like mold of land. Consisting of Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti, Somalia, Sudan and Kenya, its circumstance lingers as Africa’s most distressed region and from all indications one of the world’s. The major afflictions of ethnic friction, civil wars, refugee crisis, drought, poverty and ill-health had been persistent and prevalent scourges. *17m people, according to World Food Program (WFP) two-thirds of them drought victims were at the risk of starvation in 1996. 13m according to the Economist magazine in the year 2000. Dennis McNamara, UN Special Coordinator on Internal Displacement made it known in October 2000 that the displaced populations of the world as at then was about 25 million world wide, Sudan alone with about 4 million. Others were Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea following the war, the great lakes region – Burundi, Rwanda and Congo. Also Angola and Sierra leone.

Ethiopia and its former province, Eritrea, independent in 1993 had hopes that the end of the civil war may afford peace and immediate development but yet to make an appreciable impact as drought and food shortages persist. In Sudan were civil war remains the chief culprit, millions of people are deemed at risk of survival and many displaced as a result of its intractability. Somalia quarters hundreds of thousands dependent on food aid in its suburbs and villages and often slides back to clan-clashes. Prior to the withdrawal of the United Nations forces in March, 1994 considerable cessation of hostilities were maintained affording save conveyance of food aid that saved an impending prodigious scourge of starvation and death. Djibouti of the 90s had hundreds of thousands of homeless refugees, an offshoot of its civil war and Kenya, relatively developed had an average of a million and a half, most guests from her turbulent neighbors. Though a relatively affluent member of the horn, for her relatively peaceful and stable polity, this book gives her no highlighted account. It’s a work that can be seen as an analytical narrative of conflicts and major events in this region. With insight and clarity it touches political origination, culture, religion, economy, democracy and human rights, environmental mishaps, foreign relations and their effect on national development. No region in the world has witnessed tragedy the horn’s mode. None maybe has borne too much misery at a time. Its great inhibitions to peace has transformed it into a profoundly commiserative story and a festering wound on the continent yet amid scattered gainful strides in general development.

Djibouti

An area of 23,200km and a population of about 800,000 as at 2001 Djibouti is situated in the southern entrance to the Red Sea with a long coastline with the Gulf of Aden. It is bounded on the north by Eritrea, on the north and southwest by Ethiopia and southeast by Somalia. With Arabic and French as official languages its population are almost entirely Muslims. Its capital is also named Djibouti.

Political History

In 1945 the area now comprising thy Republic of Djibouti (then known as French Somaliland) was proclaimed an overseas territory of France, and in 1967 was renamed the French territories of the Afars and Issas (inhabitant ethnic groups). The Afar and Issa have strong connections with Ethiopia and Somalia respectively. Until the 1960s divisions between the two communities were not marked ; subsequently however, conflicting international tensions in the horn, together with French policy of favoring the minority Afar community combined to create internal frictions. Demand for self-rule were led by the Issa community. Under pressure from the Organization of African Unity(now African Union) to grant full autonomy to the territory, France acted to foster harmonious relationship between the two communities but with an untrusted overture to the majority Issas laid an unstable foundation for a bilateral commitment to nation building.

However following an overwhelming vote favoring self-rule expressed in a referendum held in May, 1977, the territory gained its political sovereignty on the 27th of June. Hassan Ghouled Aptidon, a senior Issa politician became the first President of the newly proclaimed Republic. Maintaining a pacific political state for a while the world was not appalled to see Djibouti join her neighbors in a gradually failing regional peace. Political disputes turned effervescent and the nation slowly backslid into a civil war when the two main rival ethnic groups broke the cord of tolerance as a result of overt policy of segregation run by President Aptidon who concentrated power within his sub-clan. Ahmed Dini Ahmed, Front for the Restoration of Unity and Democracy (FRUD), a merger of three insurgent Afar movements, led the main opposition even as a sexagenarian. As a former leader of the independence movement he played a crucial role in ensuring Hassan Ghouled Aptidon was installed as Djibouti’s President, himself as Prime Minister, but resigned six months afterwards, contentious of the corrupt clanistic direction the new government towed. From behind the scenes Ahmed directly masterminded Afar opposition against the incumbent until the emergence of FRUD.

Chequered Quest for Democracy

Up until open resistance to Ghouled’s leadership under a peoples representative party a (RPP) was a rare thing. Opposition becoming more restive in the unchanging political weather resorted to violence . Party headquarters witnessed a bomb explosion, the death of two people in it and subsequent assassination of a prominent local businessman in January 1986 amongst others. The unpeaceful calm was broken and Ghouled apprehensive of increased insecurity moved to arrest over a thousand people. Aden Robleh Awalleh, a cabinet minister fled to Ethiopia after being expelled under charges of speaking out against unfair party policies . He formed an opposition in exile in continuation of the struggle for a democratic Djibouti. This episode reflects the common politics obtainable in the horn where voices of dissent are branded treasonable ones by the political establishment. Ghouled has always felt his position in power threatened by the idea of a truly representative government. This was further evident when in 1987, receiving over 90% of the votes cast, he was the sole candidate of a presidential election. Juggling the political structure by dissolutions and cabinet reshufflings for security in power dissent boiled soon igniting in 1988 an inter-ethnic conflict in the border town of Balboa, attacked by opposition . Hostilities also erupted in the capital and Afar town of Tadjourah subsequently, in 1989. Arrest and deportation of several hundreds of people mainly Afars to Gesdin, a remote border region and the following report of their being killed by the Insurgent Somali National Movement and Issa militiamen contributed to a fullscale war that ensued . More opposition movements emerged but were vehemently suppressed with the government’s frequent arrests, tortures and outright rejection to political pluralism. An even greater challenge to Ghouled’s authority emerged in April, 1991 with the merger of three militant Afar groups to form Front pour la Restauration de l’unite et de la democratie (FRUD) which in November with a force of about 3,000 men launched an intensified insurrection and by the month’s end controlled many towns and villages north of the country, besieging Tadjourah and Obock held by the national army. The government continued to promise reform but effecting none, rather Afar members of the cabinet were resigning for unpleasant reasons. Attempts by the French to broker some rapprochement became unsuccessful.

Constitutional Reform.

Most of the government’s constitutional reform initiatives were carried out half-heartedly and with yet deep mistrust for the opposition hence its many faltering and final collapse. To set up a presidential commission on constitutional reform which submitted its report in March, 1992 all in exclusion of the opposition’s active involvement and in particular honoring demand for a constitutional conference constituted a foundational error. After announcing that reform will be determined in a national referendum and the promise of a multi-party system, the President moved forward to release political prisoners as a gesture of hope towards reconciliation. But the draft constitution was drawn mainly by the President’s supporters and political cronies. Approved by a referendum on 4th September, 1992 with 96.8% voting in favor and 75.2% turnout of 120,000 eligible voters as reported by the ministry of the interior, political parties were among these changes reduced to four . But two-thirds of the country controlled by FRUD boycotted the elections putting to question the legitimacy of the results. With the opposition largely excluded from the process, elections held in 18th December 1992, monitored by observers from France, the Organization of African Unity (OAU) and the Arab League provided an easy victory for the RPP which won all 65 seats in the chamber of the deputies and 76.7% of the popular votes. Voters’ apathy was also registered with more than 51% of the electorate abstaining from voting. Renewed fighting was reported in 1993 as it even reflected a deterioration in national politics and a logjam in the advancement of national unity. Government offensive claimed to have recaptured rebel strongholds in Tadjourah while supply routes were severed in the south of the country. Ghouled as often reshuffled his cabinet that same year preserving a careful ethnic balance with Issa ministers receiving eight portfolios and Afar representatives seven. One portfolio each was given to three other minorities. Five candidates stood in Djibouti’s first contested election on 7th May, 1993. Ghouled won with 60.8% of the votes but opposition alleged yet another widespread fraud.

The crisis of ethnic favoritism was fueled by exhibited reluctance and possible insincere attitude towards forming a government of equal representation and organizing an election, it instituted the process of change devoid of concessionary negotiation or even representation with the position. Prevalent in the horns power-politics, one of the major underlying factors militating against stability has been political intolerance and subjugation of rival groups particularly from the incumbency. Personalization of rivalry and power and fear of dominance haunted the ranks of government lacerating the little political amalgamation that there was. Ghouled’s un-commitment to its extirpation expressed in cosmetic reformations and the desperate desire of his own stability in power soon degenerated to a resort to human-rights abuse. Human rights organizations within the country supported by Amnesty International and the American State Department’s report of the issue recorded a spiral of rape, summary execution, detention, poisoning of wells and general destruction of a level that many observers in the international community suspected ethnic cleansing. Tens of thousands of Afars fled the fighting and sought refuge in neighboring Ethiopia.

The hope for Djibouti to escape the tragic host of nations whose political future has been largely defined by ethnic conflict came in December 26, 1994 when the two sides signed a peace agreement which envisaged the establishment of coalition government, the implementation of a power sharing arrangement based on a quota system and devolution of power to the regions. In June 1995 Gouled made a significant contribution to the fulfillment of the terms of the agreement by reorganizing his cabinet. The FRUD undertook to abandon its military struggle against the Gouled regime in exchange. Finally the struggle by March 1996 earned FRUD legal recognition as the fourth and the largest party. But there was still a faction that remain even militarily opposed to the government. Since the war in particular has cost a government immense resources, it sought to get to its feet by initiating an economic reform that was so austere it sparked working class revolt that was ultimately crash by the government.

Refugee Crisis

As most countries of the horn, refugee crisis is one of the major problems that has plagued the region and constantly spurred by drought, economic dislocation and war. Djibouti, though a comparatively smaller country than its neighbors has had to bear a disproportionate burden of cross-border refugees from its neighbors. In mid 1991 there were an estimated 35,000 Somali and 5,000 Ethiopian official refugees. By August about 4,000 under